Jeannine Jaramillo takes plea deal in Cibola County

CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. — Jeannine Jaramillo, the woman charged in the deadly I-25 wrong-way crash that killed two first responders, has learned her fate in a similar case out of Cibola County.

Jaramillo took a plea deal that will put her behind bars for 18 months for leading authorities in western New Mexico on a chase in a stolen vehicle. She claimed she was running from a man who tried to hold her at knifepoint.

Just months after that incident, Jaramillo told authorities in Santa Fe a similar lie. She said her kidnapper was the one who caused a crash on the freeway that killed a Santa Fe police officer and a retired Las Vegas firefighter.

Later, police said there was no one else in the car with her. Jaramillo is expected to go to trial for that case next year.